fix(agent): make a binary @file: reference actionable instead of a dead end

A binary @file: ref (PDF, docx, spreadsheet, …) expanded to a bare
"binary files are not supported" warning with no content. The model saw a
failure and gave up — e.g. a dropped PDF came back as a text note claiming the
type was unsupported, even though the file was staged on disk right next to it.

Inject an actionable content block instead: the path, mime type, size, and a
nudge to use its tools to read/convert/view the file (and explicitly not to tell
the user the type is unsupported). General across every binary type — not
PDF-specific. The file already resolves where the agent's tools run (local cwd
or the staged copy in a remote session workspace), so it can act on it directly.
This commit is contained in:
Brooklyn Nicholson
2026-06-09 19:16:46 -05:00
parent 29147afd63
commit 7ffc216bc0
2 changed files with 55 additions and 5 deletions
+23 -4
View File
@@ -192,21 +192,40 @@ def test_expand_git_diff_staged_and_log(sample_repo: Path):
assert "VALUE = 2" in result.message
def test_binary_and_missing_files_become_warnings(sample_repo: Path):
def test_missing_file_becomes_warning(sample_repo: Path):
from agent.context_references import preprocess_context_references
result = preprocess_context_references(
"Check @file:blob.bin and @file:nope.txt",
"Check @file:nope.txt",
cwd=sample_repo,
context_length=100_000,
)
assert result.expanded
assert len(result.warnings) == 2
assert "binary" in result.message.lower()
assert len(result.warnings) == 1
assert "not found" in result.message.lower()
def test_binary_file_yields_actionable_block_not_a_dead_warning(sample_repo: Path):
from agent.context_references import preprocess_context_references
result = preprocess_context_references(
"Check @file:blob.bin",
cwd=sample_repo,
context_length=100_000,
)
assert result.expanded
# The whole point: a binary attachment must NOT degrade into a discouraging
# warning that makes the model give up — it gets an actionable content block.
assert not result.warnings
assert "blob.bin" in result.message
assert "binary" in result.message.lower()
assert "not supported" not in result.message.lower()
# And it must point the agent at the file so it can act on it with tools.
assert str(sample_repo / "blob.bin") in result.message
def test_soft_budget_warns_and_hard_budget_refuses(sample_repo: Path):
from agent.context_references import preprocess_context_references